The Grief of Bishop Broughton and the Paradox of Faith

On 16 September 1849, Sarah Broughton, wife of William Grant Broughton, the first and only Anglican Bishop of Australia, died in Sydney. For Broughton, her passing was a devastating blow. Since his arrival in New South Wales in 1829, he had always felt like a stranger in this harsh, unwelcoming land. Yet his faith sustained him. He found solace in the promise of resurrection, believing that on the final day, the trumpet would sound, and he would be reunited with his beloved Sarah.

This moment encapsulated a broader paradox in colonial Australia. While European intellectuals debated biblical criticism, geology, and the existence of God, ordinary British settlers—both in the homeland and its distant colonies—experienced a religious revival. Tombstones across Sydney, Melbourne, Hobart, and beyond bore inscriptions of hope:

“Affliction sore long time I bore:
All human aids were vain;
Till death gave ease when God did please
To take away my pain.”

These words reflected a society clinging to Christian morality amid the uncertainties of colonial life.

The Church and Moral Reform in a Convict Society

The churches played a crucial role in shaping colonial morality. Anglican, Methodist, Presbyterian, and Catholic clergy preached temperance, Sabbath observance, and family virtue. The Temperance Society of New South Wales, founded in 1832, campaigned against drunkenness, while itinerant preachers like J. Watsford stirred emotional revivals, converting even the most hardened drinkers.

Yet colonial Sundays often defied clerical expectations. While Protestant Sabbatarians condemned cooking, shooting, and even swimming on the Lord’s Day, working-class Australians turned Sunday into a day of feasting and leisure. The streets of Sydney bustled with vendors selling pies and roasted meats, while the gentry paraded in carriages along Parramatta Road.

The Convict Question and Colonial Identity

By mid-century, transportation had become a flashpoint. In 1849, when the British government announced the resumption of convict shipments to New South Wales, public outrage erupted. The Sydney Morning Herald denounced the decision as “Our Country’s Degradation.” Mass protests erupted, with Robert Lowe declaring:

“The stately presence of our city, the beautiful waters of our harbour, were this day again polluted with the presence of that floating hell—a convict ship!”

Melbourne’s citizens were equally defiant, vowing to repel any convict vessel. Yet in Van Diemen’s Land (Tasmania), where convict labor was deeply entrenched, resistance was more complicated. Employers depended on prisoners, and abolitionists like John West faced accusations of hypocrisy.

The Decline of the Aborigines and the Rise of Colonial Ambition

As debates over convictism raged, the Indigenous population continued to suffer. Reports from the 1840s documented their rapid decline due to disease, dispossession, and violence. Protector George Augustus Robinson lamented that they had “no place for the sole of their feet.”

Meanwhile, colonial elites looked to the future. William Wentworth championed the establishment of the University of Sydney, envisioning an educated native-born leadership. The discovery of gold in 1851 further transformed Australia, accelerating migration and industrial growth.

Conclusion: A Society in Transition

By 1850, Australia stood at a crossroads. The convict era was ending, free institutions were emerging, and industrial progress loomed. Yet beneath these changes, older tensions—between faith and doubt, reform and tradition, settlers and Indigenous peoples—persisted. The legacy of this era would shape Australia’s identity for generations to come.

As Bishop Broughton had once sung:

“And with the morn those Angel faces smile,
Which I have loved long since, and lost awhile.”

The morning of a new Australia was dawning, but the shadows of the past still lingered.